Exodus International, the notorious “ex-gay” organization that claims to offer “freedom from homosexuality,” has released an iPhone app that, according to its website, is “designed to be a useful resource for men, women, parents, students, and ministry leaders.”
And Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization that fights anti-gay religious extremism and the “ex-gay” movement, has launched a petition to demand that Apple remove the bigoted iPhone app.
This new iPhone app is the latest move in Exodus’ dangerous new strategy of targeting youth. In light of the recent wave of LGBT youth suicides, this tactic is particularly galling as it creates, legitimizes, and fuels the ostracism of LGBT youth by their families.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, LGBT teens who experienced negative feedback from their family were 8 times more likely to have attempted suicide, 6 times as vulnerable to severe depression, and 3 times more likely to use drugs (Caitlin Ryan, San Francisco State University, June 2009).
The Exodus website boasts that its app received a 4+ rating from Apple, meaning that it contains “no objectionable content.”
Exodus uses scare tactics, misinformation, stereotypes and distortions of LGBT life to recruit clients, including “reparative therapy” to “change” their clients’ sexual orientation, according to Truth Wins Out.
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You can sign the petition at Change.org.
